Geography and Travel

The Louis Calder Center – Biological Field Station is located in southern New York state, near the village of Armonk, New York, in a hilly, wooded region of northern Westchester County, about three miles from the Connecticut border.   In driving distances, we are about 5 miles from White Plains-NY, 15 miles from Greenwich-CT and about 40 miles fromNew York City (Central Park).  We are also about a 45-minute drive from the main (Rose Hill) campus of Fordham University.

• By car: the station is accessible via Interstate 684.
  Click here for driving directions
• By air: the station is very close (about 5 miles) to the  Westchester County Airport, which is served by Air Canada, American, Continental, Northwest, United, and US Air).
• By train: the nearest train stations are:
  Amtrak inStamford, CT (22 miles) and
  Metro North, North White Plains, NY (6.7 miles)

On a clear day, the New York City skyline is visible from Calder Hall

A wood duck on Calder Lake

Many ecosystems and important scientific institutions are located within a short driving distance of the field station, including:

• Adirondack Forest Preserve
• Adirondack State Park
• Black Rock Forest
• Catskill Forest Preserve
• Hudson River
• Long Island Pine Barrens
• Long Island Sound
• Mianus River Gorge
• New Jersey Pine Barrens
• Sterling Forest State Park

• Hudson RiverNational Estuarine Research Reserve
• Institute for Ecosystem Studies
• Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory
• Mohonk Preserve
• New York Academy of Sciences
• New York Botanical Garden
• Rutgers – Pinelands Field Station
• University of Connecticut Marine Sciences Program
• Wildlife Conservation Society - Bronx Zoo
  

The region in the vicinity of the Louis Calder Center is highly glaciated, creating a lake district of more than 500 lakes and ponds within a 10 km radius. 

The station itself is situated on highly metamorphosed bedrock (gneiss, schist) at elevations from 145 to 200 m, with shallow soils: 25-50 cm of sandy loam in the Hollis association. 

Climate is coastal-mesic, with annual mean temperature and precipitation of 10.5° C and 112 cm, respectively.

The forested vegetation is typical of mid-successional forests in mid-Atlantic through southernNew England:

• Northern red and black oaks dominate the canopy.
• The understory is composed of late-successional species including sugar maple, red maple, and American beech. 
• Stands of eastern hemlock occur in shady areas.

Typical terrain at the Calder Center